Speak Now
by bookwormatheart
Summary: A collection of 15 Channy one-shots based on and inspired by the songs on Taylor Swift's third album, Speak Now. If you're in the mood for lots of Channy fluff and great song lyrics, check it out!
1. Mine

_Author's Note: Hey everybody! Just wanted to explain what I'll be doing in this "story" so no one is confused later. Basically for every song on the album, I will be writing a Channylicious one-shot. These one-shots will not have ANYTHING to do with one another and will most likely be set at very different times throughout the chapters. (For instance, this one is set WAY in the future when Sonny and Chad are all grown up.) For anyone who read my other SWAC story "Just Enemies" this is NOT the sequel I talked about maybe writing. This is just a fun in-between thing, something low stress for me and (hopefully) entertaining for all of you. So this "story" is basically just a collection of song fic one-shots. Confused yet? That's okay, you'll get it. Disclaimer: I don't own Sonny with a Chance, So Random, or ANY of the Taylor Swift songs in this story. Anyway, please review if you liked it so I know whether or not to continue. Enjoy the first one-shot! _

Sonny's POV:

_You were in highschool working part time waiting tables,  
>Left a small town, never looked back,<br>I was a flight risk, with a fear of falling, _

_Wondering why we'd bother with love, _

_If it never lasts, _

_I say, can you believe it, _

_As we're lying on the couch, _

_The moment I could see it, _

_Yes, yes I can see it now, _

"Honey, I'm home!" I heard Chad yell as he walked through the front door. "Where are you?"

"In the living room." I smiled and looked up from the photo album I had been studying as he walked in the room. "Hi."

"Hi." He walked over, leaned down, and punctuated his greeting with a quick kiss.

I grinned as he broke away and stood straight again, his hand reaching up to his neck to loosen his tie. "How was work?"

"Exhausting, but good." He flopped down on the couch beside me, still struggling with his tie, and I noticed the laugh lines that were beginning to show around his eyes. Just one more sign that we weren't kids anymore.

"Here, let me get that for you." I leaned over and grabbed his tie, pulling him closer as I loosened it. "There." I said after a second. I looked up to find Chad staring at me intently, a loving smile on his face.

"You're beautiful." He leaned over my rounded stomach and kissed me gently on the neck. I shivered with pleasure.

"Thanks. You're not so bad yourself you know." I placed my hands on his chest and kissed him gently on the lips, reveling in the fact that he could still make me feel lightheaded after two years of marriage.

He broke away slightly and whispered, "I love you Sonny Allison Cooper."

I smiled and started to reply, when a flutter of movement in my stomach made me jerk away slightly.

Instantly Chad was on his feet. "What's the matter? Is it the baby? Is it time?"

I laughed at his anxiousness and pulled him back down next to me. "No, no, no nothing like that. She just kicked. Believe me, when its time, I'll let you know."

Chad sighed and ran his hands through his hair, then smiled ruefully. "I know. I'm just nervous I guess."

"I know. I am too. But everything's going to be fine. The doctor said little Faith is right on schedule." I looked down again and patted my stomach. "It could be any day now."

"I can't wait to see her." Chad reached over and gently placed his hand on my stomach with the same reverent awe and unsureness that told me exactly what a good father he was going to be. After a second he removed his hand and glanced down at the photo album in my lap. "Is this what you were up to all day? Reminiscing?"

I smiled. "Pretty much."

We both stared down at the photo I had been looking at earlier. A younger version of me, as sophomore in highschool, stared back at us, a happy smile on her face. I was standing at the counter of my favorite diner in my hometown in Wisconsin, and carrying a platter of food in one hand. The picture had been taken just a few weeks before the day I had gotten the call from Condor Studios that had changed my life forever.

Chad smiled. "Can you believe that _that_ girl, so sweet and innocent and beautiful, would fall for _this _loser?" I laughed aloud as he turned the page to show a picture of himself on the Mackenzie Falls cast, surrounded by adoring female fans.

"I know right?" I raised my eyebrows at him mischievously. "I'm so unlucky."

He captured my hand in his own and pressed it to his lips. "And I'm so _lucky_. Because that beautiful girl from Wisconsin came out to Hollywood and taught a jerk-throb TV star about love." He let go of my hand and laughed as he looked back down at the picture. "Before I met you I thought love was the most pointless risk ever."

I touched his cheek. "I think we taught eachother."

He pulled me closer until I was practically sitting in his lap, then turned to the next page of photos.

_Do you remember we were sitting there by the water?  
>You put your arm around me for the first time,<br>You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter, _

_You are the best thing that's ever been mine, _

I pointed at the next set of pictures. "I took these on our third date, remember? The first time you took me to to your special spot by the lake."

Chad smiled. "I remember. That was the first time I dared to put my arm around you."

I smiled too, but a little sadly, and gently touched the pictures of our smiling faces. "I remember being scared that day."

He looked at me confused. "You were scared because I put my arm around you?"

"Yes. I mean, no." I shook my head. "_You _didn't scare me. I was just scared of how much I liked you. I was worried you might turn out to be like my dad. When he left us, I saw how hurt my mom was. I told myself I would never let myself love someone enough that they could hurt me that much. And then I met you and.. well, it was scary."

Chad took my hand and squeezed it. "I know sweetie, but you were brave. You let me in. Even though I was a jerk, and I hurt you so many times, you let me become a part of your world, and you let me into your heart. And I'll never stop thanking you for that."  
>I smiled, tears beginning to sting my eyes at his sweet words. "I love you."<p>

"I love you too."

_Flash forward and we're taking on the world together, _

_And there's a drawer of my things at your place, _

_You learn my secrets and you figure out why I'm guarded, _

_You say we'll never make my parents mistakes, _

I turned the page and instantly began to laugh away my tears. The photo was of me, in Chad's old dressing room at Condor Studios. I was wearing a "Mackenzie Falls is #1!" shirt and sticking my tongue out at the camera. "That was the day Grady spilled chili cheese fries all over me in the cafeteria and I asked to borrow one of your shirts for the rest of the day. Of course, Tawni wouldn't let me near her precious clothes." I rolled my eyes, laughed, then continued. "When you pulled out that Mack Falls shirt I thought I was going to smack you."

Chad laughed. "You did smack me! But it was worth it because I got that lovely picture of you."

I chuckled. "After that I started keeping a drawer of emergency clothes in your dressing room just in case. Tawni swore the sight of my clothes made her barf."

Chad grinned. "Well I always thought you looked hot in them."

I winked at him. "Oh, I know, I looked like a supermodel in everything I put on."

"Yes, you did. And still do." Chad flipped over to the next page.

_But we got bills to pay,  
>We got nothing figured out,<br>When it was hard to take, _

_Yes, yes, this is what I thought about, _

"Oh wow." I said, as I saw the next picture. Chad and I were sitting on opposite ends of the kitchen table in my apartment. I was surrounded by college textbooks, and appeared to be writing a paper. Chad was leafing through my bills, with a sheet of paper on one side of him and a calculator on the other.

"I remember that day. We were fighting." Chad shook his head. "We were just stepping out into adult world and we were really stressed out."

I nodded. "My mom was over to help me pack up to move to my new apartment, and she took that picture. I was so mad at her, I was trying to concentrate." I laughed. "I was trying to juggle our relationship, So Random, and college all at the same time."

"And I offered to help by keeping track of your bills." Chad rolled his eyes. "What a sweet boyfriend I was. Reminding you of how much of your hard earned money really belongs to other people."

"Aw, no, you were helpful! Really! I loved that we could work along side eachother like that, even when we were mad."

"Yep, good practice for married life. Cause let me tell you, you are one hard person to live with. Ouch!" He rubbed his arm where I'd playfully smacked him. "See?"

I grinned, stuck my tongue out at him, and turned to the next page.

_Do you remember all the city lights on the water?  
>You saw me start to believe, for the first time,<br>You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter, _

_You are the best thing that's ever been mine, _

"Aww! These are my favorites." I pointed at the pictures. "From when you proposed. Remember?"

"Of course I do! I was so nervous I almost threw up on your shoes instead of telling you how much I loved you." Chad laughed.

I glanced through the pictures of us standing beside the lake, our special spot. I hadn't been that surprised when Chad offered to take me there after work one night. It was just where we went to talk and hang out and usually exchange some kisses. I _had _been surprised though when I realized the entire beach had been lit up with candles, lanterns and Christmas tree lights. They had made the lake sparkle and shimmer like a diamond. I was so wonderstruck, I didn't even notice that Chad had gotten down on one knee, or see the photographer who was hiding just a few yards away, snapping secret pictures of our big moment.

When I had looked back at Chad, he had been down in front of me, his blue eyes shining from the twinkling lights, his face earnest and filled with love. "_I love you Sonny, more than life itself. You are my everything, and I want to spend every single day of the rest of my life showing you how happy you make me, and trying to make you happy in return. I would be completely blown away, and honored, if you would be willing,"_ here he had pulled out the red velvet ring box that had made me smile through the happy tears that were already streaming down my face, _"to become my wife."_

"Yes." I whispered quietly, remembering the moment as vividly as if I were still standing there. I smiled and turned the page.

_And I remember that fight; 2:30 AM, _

_Cause everything was slipping right out of our hands,  
>I ran out crying, and you followed me out into the street, <em>

_Braced myself for the goodbye,  
>Cause that's all I've ever known,<br>But you took me surprise, _

_You said, "I'll never leave you alone", _

_You said I remember how we felt sitting by the water,  
>And everytime I look at you, its like the first time, <em>

_I fell in love with a careless man's careful daughter,  
>She is the best thing that's ever been mine. <em>

"When was this picture taken?" I pointed at the next photograph. Chad and I were standing by the lake again, but it was clearly not the night of our engagement. It looked like it was a few months later in the winter. He was holding me close, and it looked like I was crying.

"That was the morning after the night we had that big fight. Don't you remember? You were scared, I was tired, and we had a huge argument at two-thirty in the morning at my house. You drove away crying and all I could do was sit there and hate myself for hurting you and worry about where you were." He sighed just at the memory. "I started calling around in the morning, but no one had seen you. Eventually, I called Tawni and she asked me if we had had a special place. That's when I knew you'd be at the lake."

I nodded. "How could I forget? Tawni drove you there and we apologized. I had been crying all night long."

Chad tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. "I can't believe I was such a jerk."

"No, I was wrong too." I stopped, suddenly, confused. "Wait... what were even fighting about that night? I mean, really, do you remember?"

He paused and considered the question. "No... I don't."

I laughed. "Well I guess we worked that out then."

He laughed too then leaned close to me, his breath tickling my ear. "I'm glad. I wouldn't trade our life together for anything. I still remember exactly how I felt the first time I realized I love you and since then I've never stopped feeling that way."

I smiled and grabbed his hand, lacing our fingers together before I turned to the next page.

_Hold on, make it last, _

_Hold on, never turn back, _

_You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter, _

_You are the best thing that's ever been mine, _

_Do you believe it? _

_We're gonna make it now, _

_And I can see it, _

_I can see it now, _

"You looked so gorgeous coming down the aisle that day. I couldn't even breathe, I was so awestruck." Chad smiled at the pictures from our wedding.

As I looked down at the pictures of me smiling up at Chad in my beautiful white dress, I felt tears well in my eyes again. He noticed them and frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I smiled through my tears and started to wipe them away. "It's just, now I can see that we were always supposed to be together. Right from the start, from the first moment I met you and you stole my frozen yogurt, we eachothers soulmates."

"I know. It seems crazy." Chad rested his forehead against mine, his hand resting lightly on my cheek, his thumb caressing my tears away. "But look where we ended up. Married and happy with a precious baby girl on the way. We made it through everything, all the fights and break ups and awkward moments. We're together forever. And I can honestly say, Sonny Cooper, you are the best thing that's ever been mine." He leaned in and kissed me slowly but passionately. I returned his kiss, reminded for the thousandth time of why I loved him so much.

Suddenly I pulled away, surprising Chad. "Uhh, Chad?"

"Hmmm?" He murmured, pulling me closer to him.

"I-I think we might have some more pictures to add to the album soon. Like, really soon."

I felt him tense and he pulled away slightly, his eyes searching mine for the meaning behind my words. "What do you mean?"

I looked up at him, my eyes shining and my heart beating fast. "Well... I think my water just broke. Its time."

_You are the best thing that's ever been mine... _

_AN: Sooo, what did you think? I know its a little different than other things I've done in the past, but I hope you still liked it! Sorry if you're not Taylor's biggest fan, but I tried to pick music that I could most easily see myself writing a story about. Oh, and I did change the lyrics a little bit to make it fit the story more (I changed "You were in college" to "You were in highschool"). Hope you enjoyed this, please review if you did! And thanks for reading! _


	2. Sparks Fly

_Author's Note: Hey everyone! So first things first, thanks SO MUCH for the reviews and the favorites and the alerts. KellyTheLovatic, Clkaudiia, and LoveShipper, you are all awesome for reviewing! Keep it up if you enjoy this story! Oh, and by the way, sorry for the sort of long wait between the first chapter/one shot and this one. My life has taken on a whole new meaning of busy lately. I actually wrote this awhile ago, but didn't post it because I felt like it kinda sucked. (Haha how's that for an opening to a chapter I'm hoping you'll read?) But I felt like "Mine" and "Sparks Fly" were going to be two of the harder songs for me since they were two of the ones I had the least idea how to apply to Sonny and Chad's lives/romance. And of course those were the first two songs on the album. Of course. So even if you kind of think this first couple one-shots could use some work, please continue to come back for more, cause I think they might get better with time. Anyway, enough with excusing my mediocre writing (cause who wants to hear that, right?). Let's get back to Channy. Hope you enjoy this chapter! Please review if you do!  
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_The way you move is like a full on rainstorm, _

_And I'm a house of cards, _

_You're the kind of reckless that should send me running, _

_But I kind of know that I won't get far, _

_And you stood there in front of me, _

_Just close enough to touch, _

_Close enough to hope, _

_You couldn't see what I was thinking of, _

"Come on, we've got to run for it!" Chad looked over at me, grinning. "You ready for this?"

I took a deep breath and glanced out the window of his car. We were parked in front of my apartment building, and he was dropping me off after another spectacular date. The only thing marring the so-far perfect day was the drenching rain that poured from the sky, the drops so close together and fast that I could barely glimpse my own front door. I looked back at him and laughed. "If you are."

He pulled up the hood of his jacket (though I really doubted if it would help at this point) took a deep breath, and yelled, "I'm going in!"

I laughed as he opened the door of his car and leaped out into the storm. He raced around to my side of the car and opened the door for me, then pulled me up from my seat into the surprisingly cold rain. "Oh my gosh!" I squealed as I felt the rain pelt my hair and clothes. "I'm getting so _wet_!"

"Well, that's usually what happens during rainstorms Sonny." Chad chuckled as I shot him a look, then stuck out my tongue at him. "Come on!" He grabbed my hand and we ran through the rain up to the porch, where a little over-hang shielded us from the drops.

I giggled breathlessly, feeling like a five year old. "That was fun! I haven't been out in the rain like that for a long time."

"Yeah." Chad smiled at me, then leaned forward and tucked a wet strand of my hair that had blown loose back behind my ear. "You look beautiful all wet."

"Oh... thanks." I blushed and looked down, feeling butterflies start to flutter in my stomach. I glanced back up at him and wondered if I should return the compliment. Because he _did _look good. Really good. His normally styled blonde hair had been wrecked by the rain, and a little bit of it fell into his eyes, making him even more adorable than usual. His shirt, wet through even under his hoodie, clung to his abs and I wondered if he worked out everyday. I was thinking the answer was probably 'yes' judging by the muscles I could see underneath the damp fabric. As my gaze rose to his face again, I noticed his lips were twisted into the amused half-smile I knew so well and his blue eyes glowed.

"Sonny Munroe, are you checking me out?" His amused smirk turned into a full-fledged cocky grin as I felt my cheeks turn red again.

"What? Uh, no. Well, maybe. I mean, no! O-of course I wasn't." I stuttered to a halt, sure my whole face was scarlet now.

He laughed. "Hey, I like it that my girlfriend thinks I'm hot."

I rolled my eyes. "I never said you were hot Chad."

"Oh, yeah? What am I then?" He leaned forward, and I desperately hoped he couldn't see how badly I wanted to kiss him right now.  
>"You're you. Chad Dylan Cooper. The 'greatest actor of our generation'." I said, purposefully putting air quotes around the last phrase.<p>

He backed away slightly, and I released a breath I didn't even known I was holding. "Oh, Sonny, you're going to have to pay for that one." He reached out and started to tickle me.

"CHAD! Chad! Stop!" I said as my sides shook, and tears of laughter started to stream down my face. "You _know _I'm super ticklish!"

"Which is exactly what makes this so fun!" He said, grabbing me in a giant bear hug as he continued to tickle me. When I finally couldn't even breathe well enough to yell at him anymore from all the laughing, Chad let me go, grinning wickedly. "That's what you get for doubting my identity as the greatest actor of our generation."

I giggled a little bit, feeling a bit lightheaded after all the tickling and just... Chad... being right there... and smiling at me like I meant everything to him. "Okay, okay, I've learned my lesson and I'll never make the same mistake again. But I've got to go now. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, tomorrow." He looked around for a second, almost as if looking for a reason to stay with me a few minutes longer, but then he just smiled and turned to walk back out into the storm. "I had fun today Sonny. I'll text you later."

"Okay, bye." I watched as he stepped off the porch and back out into the rain then put my hand on the doorknob. Suddenly I paused, regret sweeping over me. Something seemed wrong here.

_Drop everything now, _

_Meet me in the pouring rain,  
>Kiss me on the sidewalk, <em>

_Take away the pain,  
>Cause I see sparks fly, <em>

_Whenever you smile, _

_Get me with those blue eyes baby,  
>As the lights go down,<br>Give me something that'll haunt me,  
>When you're not around, <em>

_Cause I see sparks fly, _

_Whenever you smile, _

I suddenly realized what I wanted, what was missing. I wanted Chad to _do _something. We'd been dating for two months, and so far he hadn't even kissed me on the cheek. And even though I liked that he didn't move too fast, some part of me really wanted him to just sweep me off my feet. Just grab my hand, pull me out into the rain, and kiss me like he meant it. I sighed. _Why doesn't he just do that? Is it because he just doesn't like me enough to want to kiss me? _I leaned my head against the door, then sighed and reached for the doorknob again, trying to find the patience to just let it go.

"Sonny."

That word, that two syllables, stopped me dead in my tracks. I turned around slowly, barely able to believe that it would actually be him. But it was. He stood there on the edge of the porch, soaked again from his journeys through the rain, breathing hard like he'd been running.

"Chad, I thought you left already." I said slowly, trying not to let myself jump to conclusions. Just because he ran back here didn't mean he was going to kiss me in the rain.

"I did. I got in my car and drove for about two seconds, then stopped and came back." He stepped closer to me, and a frisson of excited adrenaline raced along my spine. There was something in his eyes, a determination, as if he was working himself up to do something he was a little bit scared to do.

"Why'd you come back?" I said, smiling a little in spite of myself.

"Well, because we've been dating for awhile, and there's been something I've been wanting to do basically since the day I met you, and I don't really know how to say this right, but I really, really like you and I was wondering if-if you'd mind if I-I-" he stopped his babbling abruptly and seemed to hit a wall, his face turning bright red. I stared at him, honestly surprised. I had never seen him look so embarrassed or shook up. _Well, except maybe on our real first date, the night he threw up on me. _I felt my heart warm as another thought occurred to me. _Do I really have that affect on him __**all **__the time? _

I waited for him to continue, but he didn't, just sat there, frozen, and trying to smile through his confusion. As I looked at him, I was reminded of our past relationship, and all that had led up to this point. The fights, the fake dates, the insults, and the secret attraction burning just underneath our apparent dislike for eachother. _We could have avoided so much drama if one of us had just jumped and told the other one how we felt. _And then I knew, no matter how much I was usually on my guard in relationships, I was ready to take a chance with Chad. Even if it was the last thing on his mind, I was going to kiss him.

_I'm on the guard with the rest of the world, _

_But with you, I know its no good, _

_And I could wait patiently but,  
>I really wish you would, <em>

_Drop everything now, _

_Meet me in the pouring rain,  
>Kiss me on the sidewalk, <em>

_Take away the pain,  
>Cause I see sparks fly,<br>Whenever you smile... _

"What I'm trying to say is... is..." Chad mumbled to a halt again. I laughed and placed a hand on his cheek. His eyes widened.

"Chad, I really, really like you too." Then I leaned forward and gently placed a single kiss on his lips. It was really no big deal, just a tiny peck, but I felt my heart give a leap as our lips met. Short and sweet it was, but it was also really powerful.

We both pulled away and I looked into his eyes, nervous about how my boldness would go over. He stared at me wonderingly, then, finally, he grinned. "Thank you, Sonny. That was... amazing." I nodded, wordless. "Bu-u-ut," Chad said slowly, "this might be better." He leaned forward and our lips met for the second time, but this was different. This time _he _was kissing _me. _My fears about him not liking me enough to kiss me vanished into thin air as he cradled my face in his hands and gave me a kiss unlike any other I had ever experienced, in Wisconsin or Hollywood.

As we broke away he smiled at me and picked me up, both of us laughing. He spun me in a huge circle, then he stepped off the porch back into the rain, tugging me with him. As the rain soaked into our hair and clothes he leaned close to me, and I placed my hands on his chest and felt his frantic heartbeat underneath my fingers, causing my own heart to race. "Sonny," he leaned his forehead on mine and stared deep into my eyes, "I've waited so long for this. And it was better than I ever expected." Then he kissed me again as the rain streamed down, but now both of us barely noticed it. I tangled my fingers in the back of his hair and he pulled me closer to him. I lost myself in what I knew was the most perfect kiss I'd ever receive.

_I run my fingers through your hair,  
>And watch the lights go wild, <em>

_Just keep on keeping your eyes on me, _

_Its just wrong enough to make it feel right, _

As we broke apart for the third time, I took a deep breath and realized the rain had started to slack off. I looked up at Chad and he laughed, his voice sounding like rocks tumbling together. "I saw fireworks, what about you?"

"Mmmhmm. Definitely." I grinned. "Well, Chad Dylan, was kissing me really all that hard?"

"I-I think you know the answer to that." Chad blushed a bit, and looked away.

"Awww! You're so cute when you're not sure of yourself." I said without thinking.

He laughed. "Then I must be freaking adorable all the time. Because I'm never sure of myself around you."

"Well, you can be sure of this. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. Not if you keep kissing me like that." I smiled.

"Well, you can be sure I will." He smiled back at me, his eyes appearing to deepen to a darker blue.

"Chad, when you smile... I, well, I get butterflies in my stomach." I said shyly, blushing a little bit at the confession.

He grinned and pulled me even closer to him, so I could rest my head on his shoulder. Then he whispered the words I knew I would never forget as long as I lived. "Sonny Munroe, when _you _smile, I see sparks fly."

_And the sparks fly,  
>Oh, baby, smile, <em>

_And the sparks fly..._

_AN: Okay, I tried. I know it wasn't that creative, and TOTALLY messed up the "Sonny with a Kiss" episode (the episode we all know and love), but this song talks so much about kissing I didn't really know how to avoid it. And I was ready to write about their cute little dating experiences before they broke up. So yeah. This is what you get. Haha. Hope you didn't hate it! Thanks for reading!  
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	3. Back to December

_Author's Note: Hey everybody! So I have to say I'm really pretty happy with this one shot, so I hope you like it! Thanks to: HaileyMarieWeary, IncognitoWalrus, KellyTheLovatic for reviewing. And by the way, all of those three people are writers I really respect so check out their stuff, cause they're talented! Anyway, enjoy this chapter!  
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_I'm so glad you made time to see me, _

_How's life, tell me how's your family? _

_I haven't seen them in awhile, _

_You've been good, busier than ever, _

_We small talk, work and the weather, _

_Your guard is up, and I know why, _

_Because the last time you saw me,  
>Is still burned in the back of your mind, <em>

_You gave me roses,  
>And I left them there to die, <em>

To say that I wasn't expecting to see him was the understatement of the year. When our eyes connected I felt a little electric shock run through me, and even after all these months a hint of pleasure was mixed in with the pain. Memories flooded over me as I watched his sky blue eyes, so full of regret and indecision. I honestly didn't think he'd come over to talk to me, but he surprised me. He was always really good at that. He walked over and said my name. And the worst part was, even after telling myself I was over him day after day for ten months, the sound of his voice still tore a hole in my very fragile heart.

"Sonny." He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. He extended his hand, and I shook it. I felt weird. We'd never greeted eachother this way. Ever.

"Chad. What a nice surprise." My smile felt frozen in place.

"Yeah. It's been awhile. What have you been up to?" He shifted a little and shoved his hands in his pockets, the way he always used to do when he was nervous or uncomfortable.

"Oh, you know. Filming So Random. Hanging out with friends. Going out... sometimes." I said slowly, wondering what prompted me to add that last part in. It was a lie. I hadn't even thought of dating anyone since that horrible day... the day Chad and I called it quits. "What about you? How's the new show going?"

"Oh, pretty good. My co-workers are great. I've been pretty busy with all of the promotional stuff though, so I guess that's why I haven't really been around to see all my old, uh, friends at Condor Studios." He paused and I nodded before a long, awkward pause ensued.

"Sooo... what brings you to The Patio on this lovely fall day?" I said, trying to sound a little more like the Sonny he used to know.

"Oh just meeting up with a... a friend for coffee. No big deal." He looked away.

"Oh." The meaning of his words sank in and cut deep. I had to force myself to smile, my nails digging into my palm as I clenched my fist to keep from crying. "Well, that's awesome. I hope it works out."

"Thanks." He gave me another fake smile and changed the subject. "Anyway, aren't you loving this weather? So warm."

"Yeah, got to love Hollywood weather!" I faked a laugh, inwardly hating every minute of this conversation. "Though I do kind of miss the seasons we have back home in Wisconsin."

"Yep, seasons are nice too." He nodded and the conversation lurched to another awkward halt.

"How's... Paige?" I said after a second, deciding asking about his family was the only perfectly safe topic we hadn't covered yet.

"She's doing pretty well. She's started wearing some make up now when she goes out. That's pretty weird for me, I have to admit."

"Well, its cool that she's growing up so much." I smiled naturally for the first time. "I miss seeing her."

"She... well, she asks about you sometimes." Chad looked down at his feet, then back up at me. "I'll have to tell her I ran into you here."

"Oh, for sure. Tell her I said hi." I glanced over to the doorway and noticed a pretty blonde enter and wave at Chad. "I, uh, think your date is here."

"What? Oh!" Chad motioned her over and I fought the urge to turn and run. The last thing I wanted to do was meet my replacement. But I had no choice.

"Hey Cynthia!" Chad reached over and gave her a hug as she stopped just beside him. I felt my break one more time. "Cynthia, this is Sonny. She's an old friend of mine. Sonny this is my..." he stopped suddenly, then continued as Cynthia took my hand to shake it, "girlfriend, Cynthia. She works on my show with me."

I froze. _Girlfriend? Oh, no. Sonny Munroe don't you dare make a scene by crying in the middle of the Patio! Keep it together. _"Girlfriend? Wow, congratulations!" I knew Chad would be able to tell I was my enthusiasm was fake, but I could only pray she wouldn't catch on too.

"Aw, thanks! Chad is such a great guy." Cynthia grinned and kissed him on the cheek as he blushed. She laughed. "And so easily embarrassed!"

I laughed too, my stomach twisting. "Yeah. So easily embarrassed. Well, I should let you two get back to your date. It was nice to see you Chad, and catch up."

"Yeah, definitely. Same here. Well, I guess I'll see you soon." Chad smiled gently at me. "Bye, Sonny."

"Bye Chad." I whispered, not knowing what else to do.

"So nice to meet you Sonny! Bye!" Cynthia added, smiled genuinely at me before she turned to follow Chad to the counter. I smiled feebly back before slowly picking up my purse and what was left of my drink and walking slowly to the exit, willing myself not to run.

When I reached my car, I took my keys out of my purse and calmly unlocked the door, my emotions boiling just beneath my calm exterior. I drove home, a few unstoppable tears just barely blurring my vision. When I got to my apartment, I unlocked the door, went inside, then turned and flipped the lock, shutting out the rest of the world. I walked into my bedroom, shut and locked that door too, and sat down on my bed. And then the storm broke.

I sobbed brokenly, tears streaming unchecked down my face. I didn't bother to wipe my face clean or worry about my make up. I just cried, till I couldn't see anymore for all the tears in my eyes. I flopped down on my bed and sobbed into the pillows. I wrote in my diary, tears staining the paper. I even changed into my pajamas, still crying. I cried and cried until I was exhausted, and my face so swollen I barely recognized myself when I looked into the mirror. And then came the worst part. When I was all cried out and left alone with all of the horrible memories of that day rushing over me. The day I broke Chad's heart... and my own.

"_Sonny, you have got to believe me. I am not cheating on you!" Chad's voice, tired and annoyed, did little to assuage my fears. _

"_Chad, you've been avoiding me for days. You're at the studio constantly and I saw you check out Portlyn when we were in the cafeteria yesterday." I said, my voice thick with tears and hurt. _

"_I told you! We've been working on plans for 'Mackenzie Falls: The Movie'. That's why I've been 'avoiding' you. I've been holed up in Mr. Condor's office, and he doesn't like us to duck out of important meetings just to take phone calls. Even phone calls from you, Sonny. And I did not check Portlyn out. I thought I saw something wrong with her Mackenzie Fall's uniform." _

"_Oh, yeah right, like what?" I said, rolling my eyes.  
>"I thought the plaid on her skirt was dark blue and dark green instead of dark blue and black." Chad said, rubbing his neck as he leaned back on my couch. <em>

"_Really, Chad, really? That's the best you've got? Well in that case, why couldn't you stare at the plaid on the front or the side of her skirt, instead of the back?" I said, folding my arms in front of me and straightening my spine. I wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily. _

"_Sonny, her back was to me. I can't help that, and I didn't even realize I was staring at her butt until you started freaking out on me. Honestly. I would never cheat on you Sunshine... not in a million years." _

"_Don't call me that." I said, my voice quivering in spite of myself as my eyes filled up with tears. "You've been distant lately Chad. You can't deny that. Maybe... maybe we should just wise up now and, well, end things." _

_He stared at me, his eyes showing the depths of his hurt. "Is that really what you want?" _

"_I just don't-don't know if I can trust you anymore." I said, my voice hiccuping as the tears began to stream down my cheeks. I tore my eyes away from him and stared at the carpet. _

_He stood up and walked over to me, leaving only a few inches of space between us. "Sonny, look at me." When I didn't comply, he gently took my face in his hands and tilted my head to look at him. "You are an amazing, beautiful girl and I would never, ever cheat on you. You are the only girl I think about right before I fall asleep and in the morning when I wake up. You're the one I'm hoping to see the minute I get to work. You're the one I miss every moment of every day when you're not with me. You're my sunshine. And I-I love you." _

_I gasped. "Chad you, love me?" _

_He leaned closer. "Yes. I do. I love you Sonny Allison Munroe." He kissed me gently, and I felt my heart rate slow and then pick up again as he deepened the kiss. I was starting to forget what we had been fighting about in the first place when I heard his cell phone beep. _

_I pulled away. "Chad, don't you want to get that?" _

_He shook his head. "It's not important." _

_Suddenly, a cold, terrifying suspicion choked me. Without thinking, I turned, grabbed Chad's phone and hit the read button. _

_**From: Portlyn**_

_**Hey Chad are you ready for rehearsal tonight? I can't wait to see you there. Want to meet early to "run lines" again? ;) **_

_I dropped the phone as if it had burned me. Chad snatched it up and read the text message, then turned to me with panicked eyes. "Sonny, you have to believe me, this isn't what it looks like. Portlyn is having trouble with math, so we meet sometimes before we shoot so I can tutor her. She doesn't want anyone to know she's having trouble, so we say we're running lines. That's all. You have to believe me, Sonny, please!" _

"_Chad." I said, my voice cold and hard. "Get. Out." _

"_Sonny, no, please don't be like this!" His voice cracked, and I wavered as I saw tears start to form in his eyes. But then I turned away. _

"_It's over Chad. Go." _

"_Sonny, I love y-" _

_I whirled around, the pain becoming unbearable as I saw my boyfriend cry for the first time. "DON'T SAY IT! JUST GET OUT OF MY APARTMENT! AND DON'T YOU DARE COME BACK!" I screamed, and ran into my bedroom, slamming and locking the door. For awhile he stayed, pounding on the door and pleading with me, but I wouldn't budge. When the silence finally showed that he was gone, I collapsed on my bed and cried my eyes out. I didn't stop crying all night long... _

I lay on my bed, exhausted by crying and memories. I squeezed my eyes shut as the final memory fell into place. The day, just four months ago, when Miss Bitterman had asked me to tutor Portlyn in math. The day when she had let it slip that she had dyslexia, and that her old tutor had stopped helping her because of "personal issues". The day I realized Chad hadn't been lying.

_So this is me swallowing my pride, _

_Standing in front of you, _

_Saying I'm sorry for that night,  
>And I go back to December all the time,<em>

_It turns out freedom ain't nothing but missing you, _

_Wishing I'd realized what I had when you were mine, _

_I go back to December, turn around and make it alright, _

_I go back to December all the time, _

_These days I haven't been sleeping,  
>Staying up, playing back myself leaving,<br>When your birthday passed and I didn't call, _

_Then I think about summer, _

_All the beautiful times, _

_I watched you laughing,  
>From the passenger side, <em>

_And realized I loved you in the fall, _

_And then the cold came, _

_And dark days when fear crept into my mind, _

_You gave me all your love, _

_And all I gave you was goodbye, _

Since that day when I had realized I had let go of the best thing I ever had, my pain had doubled. For that first six months, anger had sustained me, and only my dreams had been haunted by my broken heart. Now my days were filled with pain too. I had been dumb, I hadn't trusted him, and now all I wanted to do was go back to that cold December day and say I was sorry.

I rolled over on my side and noticed the time. 3 A.M. Not that that was unusual for me now. Since I had learned the truth, I hadn't slept much. Instead I stayed up, going over the scene of our break up over and over again, trying to make it seem less horrible. But it was always the same. It always ended with us separated. Pulled apart. And now he had moved on, and I was stuck. Alone with only the memories.

I remembered the days we had spent together, the warm summer days, laughing with him in his convertible, and later in the year when we had shared our first kiss on the So Random carnival set.

I remembered his birthday, how I had gone out of town and forgotten to call. I had called the next day, scared but determined to apologize, sure he would want to end it then and there. Instead he just laughed, calmed me down and insisted we have a late birthday celebration when I got home. It was then I had realized how lucky I was to have him, what an amazing person he was.

Most of all I remembered him. His blue eyes, his brownish blonde hair, the softness of his skin, the strength I would always feel flowing from him everytime he pulled me into his arms. The way he would grin at me when he made a joke. The way he would run his fingers through his hair when he was upset. The way he would sing me to sleep, strumming gently on his guitar. The memories overwhelmed me and I stood up, trying to push some of them away.

_I miss your tan skin, _

_Your sweet smile,  
>So good to me, <em>

_So right, _

_And how you held me in your arms that September night, _

_The first time you ever saw me cry, _

_Maybe this is wishful thinking, _

_Probably mindless dreaming, _

_But if we loved again, I swear I'd love you right, _

_I'd go back in time and change it, _

_But I can't,  
>So if the chain is on your door,<br>I understand, _

_This is me swallowing my pride,  
>Standing in front of you,<br>Saying I'm sorry for that night, _

_And I go back to December, _

I walked to my living room and stood next to the couch, the exact place where I'd been standing when I ordered my first true love out of my apartment and out of my life. "Please," I said, not sure I was talking to, but determined to say the words aloud, "give me another chance. I'm so sorry. I was wrong. So wrong. I know this is crazy, but I never realized what I had when I had Chad. Please make it okay again. I'm done holding on to my pride. I need him. Let me go back to December. Please..." I trailed off and sank to the floor, sobbing into my hands as I realized it was too late. I was alone, my heart broken. "Please, please, please," I whispered through my sobs, "let me go back. Please, I want to go back to December."

...

...

"Sonny, no, please don't be like this!" I heard his voice crack and looked up at him. His blue eyes were filled with tears. The sight tugged at my heart strings and suddenly I knew I couldn't let him go. That he was telling the truth, and that if I turned away I would regret it for the rest of my life. "Sonny, I love you!" He continued.

I felt tears form in my own eyes. "Shhh... please, just stop." I placed a finger on his lips. "I'm sorry. I should have trusted you from the very beginning. And- I love you too." His eyes widened in wonder.  
>"You really believe me?" He said, pulling me into his arms.<p>

"Yes. I overreacted." I snuggled against him and felt him relax. "I never want to break up with you. Somehow I just know that I would be miserable without you."

He sat back down on the couch and pulled me with him. "I'm sorry that I even gave you an opportunity to think I might be cheating. Obviously if that happened I need to start being a better boyfriend. Because the last thing I want to do is lose my little shortstack."

I looked up at him, smiling. "You won't. And you're forgiven, if you'll forgive me."

"Oh, but of course." He grinned and leaned down and kissed me.

"Chad don't you need to go help Portlyn?" I murmured as he pulled back for air.

He shook his head and grinned again. "I think something more important came up."

I smiled. "If you're sure..."

"Definitely." He leaned in and kissed me again. "I love you Sonny."

"I love you too Chad." I whispered against his lips.

_I go back to December, turn around and make it alright, _

_I go back to December, turn around and change my own mind, _

_I go back to December all the time, _

_All the time... _

_AN: Okay, I have no idea why Back to December suddenly made me think of time travel/getting a second chance kind of stuff, but it did! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, review if you did! :) Thanks for reading!  
><em>


	4. Dear John

_Author's Note: Hey guys! So I know technically by track list that Speak Now is the next song on the album, but I skipped that one because I think as the title for this story, it should come last. So that brings us to Dear John. So this chapter is really long (which I'm excited about) and also semi-confusing time line wise (which I'm sorry about) but hopefully it will all make sense when you read the whole thing. This one-shot is a little bit darker then stuff I've done in the past, but I'm trying to stretch my comfort zones as a writer and experiment with a lot of different things. So here you go. I REALLY hope you enjoy it because it took FOREVER to write this and I really really really want you to like it. Okay, I'm not going to beg for reviews, but reviews would be really nice for this particular one-shot because I really want to know what you think of it! Wow, could I have used the word "really" any more in the last few sentences? Haha ANYWAY, enjoy this chapter!:  
><em>

_Long were the nights,  
>When my days once revolved around you, <em>

_Counting my footsteps, _

_Praying the floor won't fall through again, _

_And my friends accused me of losing my mind, _

_But I swore I was fine, _

"Sonny..." he hissed into my ear, his breath smelling of booze. His fingers played roughly with my hair as I vainly struggled against him. He held me against him with a single muscled arm, his normally clear brown eyes bloodshot.

As his hands lowered down my back I struggled harder. "John! Stop!" I freed one of my arms and swung blindly, hitting him on the jaw as hard as I could. He yelped, briefly releasing me from pure surprise. I darted to the other side of the room and tried to open the door, but it held fast. It took me about two seconds to realize I was locked in, but those two seconds were all he needed. The next second he was dragging me backward, his hands rough on my shoulders. I screamed as loud as I could, but he only laughed.

"It won't do any good Random." His voice was rough and angry. "We're all alone. Just like I planned. Now you won't try to run away again. Will you?" He twisted me to face him and pressed his lips to mine, lurching drunkenly even as I fought to get his lips off of me. When he broke away he grinned at me, a self-satisfied, evil grin that made me feel sick to my stomach. Suddenly a knock at the door caused us both to jump, and for a minute a sense of relief filled me. John tensed, swore thickly underneath his breath, and shoved me away from him. I stumbled backwards and hit the wall hard. Even as the stars danced before my eyes, all I could think was, "I should have seen this coming."

FOUR MONTHS EARLIER:

"Chad, why do _you _suddenly care about my personal life?" I sighed and put my hand on my hip, hoping this conversation was close to ending.

"Believe me, I don't. But you can't go out with him Sonny. You have to trust me." Chad sighed.

"Listen, I know he's on the Mack Falls cast now, so of course you think he's too good to date me, but John seems like a really great guy, and he likes me. He asked me out, I said yes, no big deal."

"I don't think he's too good to date you!" Chad's sudden vehemence surprised me. I stepped back. He sighed again and lowered his voice. "I think _you're_ too good for _him_."

"What?" I let the words sink in, past the semi-sarcastic Chad barrier I usually put around my heart in his presence.

"Look, sometimes when John comes to work he acts like he's been, well... drinking. And you know as well as I do he's known as a big ladies man. He's just not used to hearing the word no." Chad shifted uncomfortably, clearly trying to tell me something without actually saying the words, but his face was dead serious.

I quirked an eyebrow. "Are you saying he's going to try to, um, take advantage of me?" I almost wanted to laugh as I saw Chad's cheeks turn slightly pink.

"Well, uh, yeah. I mean, I just want you to look out for yourself." He mumbled, dropping his gaze.

I rolled my eyes. "Look, Chad, I appreciate what you're trying to do. But I'm a big girl. I can make my own decisions. And I'm going out with John."

"Oooo! John who?" I turned to find Tawni, Nico, Zora, and Grady standing behind me. It was Tawni who had asked the question.

"John Mason." I smiled and giggled without thinking.

"Good grief." I heard Chad mutter behind me. "The girl's losing it." I turned and shot him a look, then turned back around, expecting my cast mates to be happy for me. Instead they looked concerned.

"John Mason?" Tawni's frown deepened as I nodded. "Oh, Sonny, don't go there."

"Yeah, that guy is bad news." Nico glanced at Grady. "I'm talking MAJOR bad news."

Zora nodded. "Don't you read the tabloids Sonny? John Mason's come within an inch of getting sued for sexual harassment at least a dozen times." She glanced around as we all stared at her in shock. "Shut your mouths people! I'm thirteen now, I know how the world works. Yeesh." She rolled her eyes.

"Well the tabloids aren't exactly reliable these days. All of that could be some publicists idea of a way to spread his name around."

"Yeah." Grady muttered. "'James Mason sued for sexual harassment. Don't you want to put a poster of him on your wall now?' That makes sense."

I waved their concerns away. "I don't understand why everyone's freaking out. John has been nothing but nice, sweet and polite to me. So I'm going out with him and there's nothing any of you can do about it." I folded my arms defiantly.

"Look, I just don't get this. You're Hollywood's sweet sunshine. The good girl from a little town in Wisconsin. Normally you wouldn't look twice at a guy like John, even if he was nice in front of you. What changed?" Tawni challenged.

"Maybe I did. Maybe I'm tired of people thinking they know all about me and that they can predict my every move cause I'm the innocent little prude from some town no one's ever heard of. Maybe I want to do something daring and edgy for once. Maybe I just want to be the one everybody's talking about. You know?" I waited for some kind of positive reaction to my little speech but my friends and Chad just stood there, awkwardly exchanging glances and shaking their heads. I sighed. "You know what, forget it."

I started to walk toward the door when Grady said, "Sonny, wait." After he saw that I had stopped he said seriously, "About a year ago I knew a girl who went out with John Mason. She liked him because he was the polar opposite of her. He was her bad-boy hero. Then he broke her heart. She said he drunk dialed her from some whole in the wall bar and called her a bunch of names, told her it was over, then hung up in her face. He never spoke to her again after that. Is that really what you want?"

I bit my lip, wondering if Grady's story could possibly be true. Then I remembered we were talking about John. John, the one who laughed at my jokes, and told me I was pretty almost as soon as he met me, and had already bought me flowers twice. I shook my head. "I don't believe you. Your friend must have been talking about someone else. John would never do that." And then I turned and walked out.

Two Months Later:

_You paint me a blue sky, _

_Then go back and turn it to rain, _

_And I lived in your chess game, _

_But you changed the rules everyday, _

_Wondering which version of you I might get on the phone tonight, _

_Well I stopped picking up,  
>And this song is to let you know why<em>

"Baby, please." John's begging voice, tugged at my heartstrings, but I remained silent. "Baby please, don't freeze me out like this. I was dumb. But that's why I called. So we could apologize to eachother."

"John..." I felt my resolve crumble a little bit as I spoke. "You left a mark." I pulled at the sleeve of my shirt and noticed the bruise, black and brown and yellow, in the shape of fingers on my arm. John's fingers.

"Oh no." He said, his voice miserable. "Babe, you got to believe me, I just don't know my own strength. I was tired and upset and-"

"You were drunk." I said, my voice thick with tears I hadn't even seen coming. "That's what you were." The dead silence on the other end of the line was icy. I didn't want to be the first to break it, but it stretched out so long I couldn't take it any longer. "John?"

"How dare you say that to me?" John's voice, the voice I'd slowly grown to love over the last two months, was cold and accusatory. "I was _not _drunk. We're sixteen Sonny, that'd be illegal." Something about the way he said it shamed me, and I hated it.

"I-I'm sorry. But I thought you were. You smelled like it a-a little." I said, feeling myself shrink inside as I felt his anger grow, even from the other side of the line. "Please don't be mad. I'm sorry, you're probably right. I probably just overreacted. I'm sorry."

He took a deep breath and sighed, long and loud in my ear. But when he spoke again, his voice was calm. Sweet. Comforting. "I know, I know. I forgive you. Just think before you talk okay? And I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have grabbed you like that. But I never knew you bruised so easily."

"I bruise very easily." I whispered.

"Well, I know that now sweetie. And I'll be more careful with my precious little ray of sunshine next time okay?" His voice, as soothing as it was, still made part of me want to cry.

"Are we going to fight again?" The thought made my heart jump with an emotion I couldn't name. Not sadness, not anger, but something closer to fear. But I pushed that thought away as soon as it entered my head.

"No, not if we keep working at communicating. It'll be okay Sonny." His soft voice became softer still. "I love you sweetheart."

"You do?" Warm relief flooded me and I gripped the phone tighter as tears began to form in my eyes. "I love you too! I'm so glad you feel that way because I've been wanting to tell you that for a couple of weeks but I was worried you wouldn't feel the same way and-"

"Yeah, I know babe. But listen, I've got to run now. Me and the guys are going to hang out tonight."

My heart sank, and the warm feeling of relief disappeared. "You're going out with the guys again tonight?"

"Yeah. Why, is that a problem?" His voice was laced with annoyance.

"Well, no, its just that I thought maybe you could come over here and see me tonight. And plus, sometimes when you're out with the guys I worry about you..." I trailed off, not knowing how to voice my hidden fears of his almost nightly partying with his friends.

"Are you serious right now?" John sighed again, anger in his voice. "Listen, Sonny, I see you practically everyday. Why are you so needy all of a sudden?" I opened my mouth to respond, but his next words stopped me in my tracks. "I knew I shouldn't have told you I loved you. My friends all said it makes girls go all crazy. And boy were they right."

I went numb, shock, sadness and anger coursing through me. My finger found the end call button, and just like that, I ended the conversation. Almost immediately the phone vibrated in my hand, and a glance at the caller ID confirmed that it was John calling back. Seeing his name caused the tears to come to my eyes, but I rejected the call and turned my phone off, my heart aching. Then I lay back on my bed and let the tears fall, crying because all at once I knew the truth. That I would never ever be able to truly make him happy. I wasn't good enough.

_Dear John I see it all now that you're gone, _

_Don't you think I was too young to be messed with? _

_The girl in the dress cried the whole night long, _

_I should've known, _

One Month Later:

_Well maybe it's me and my blind optimism to blame, _

_Or maybe it's you and your sick need,  
>To give love then take it away, <em>

_And you'll add my name to a long list of traitors,  
>Who don't understand,<br>And I'll look back in regret,  
>How I ignored when they said run as fast as you can, <em>

"John, I'm serious. It's over." I folded my arms in front of me and steeled myself against the barrage of angry words I knew were any moment going to come flying from his lips. But he surprised me. The anger never came. Instead he slumped, the fight seeming to have gone out of him.

"I don't blame you. If I were you I'd dump me too." The very real sadness in his voice hurt me so deeply that I nearly gasped from the sudden surge of pain and guilt I felt. John walked to the prop house couch and sank down on it, as if his knees had given way. His eyes were fixed on the floor as he spoke. "You just don't understand Sonny. You can't even begin to imagine what it's like. All this pressure at the Falls to give a certain kind of performance, and all this hype surrounding me. It's crazy stuff, and sometimes it makes _me _act crazy. I haven't been a good boyfriend to you. And I'm sorry."

I felt my lower lip begin to tremble, but I refused to give in to the urge to cry. John was far, far too persuasive when I cried. He knew just what to say to make me do what he wanted. And... I hated it. The realization surprised me. But it also renewed my determination. The fear, hurt, and guilt I had experienced so much in the past few months began to fade away.

"No, you haven't." I saw his head snap up in surprise at my unforgiving tone. "Look John, I wanted things to work out. I wanted it... so badly." I took a deep breath so my voice wouldn't crack and continued. "I gave you a second chance last month, even though you hurt me more than I imagined anyone ever could. I gave you so many second chances, because I tricked myself into believing you might be the one. But now... I'm done."

He slowly stood to his feet, his sadness of a few moments before completely disappeared. "You're serious about this? You're dumping me? For good?"

I stood my ground, although my heart rate begin to pick up. "I already told you I was serious. I'm sorry but-"

"You're sorry? Sorry! That's all you've got to say?" He walked towards me, tense with fury. "I trusted you Sonny. Even when all my friends told me that you were some poor little yokel from a hick town in Wisconsin, I defended you and I stayed with you. Through all of the fights and all the times you messed up. After all of that, how could you betray me like this?"

"What?" Suddenly I was angry. Angrier than I'd ever been in my whole life. I thought of all the nights I'd waited by the phone, terrified that any minute I'd receive one of his slurred and confused calls from a bar, scared that any minute I'd have to sneak out to drive him and his wasted friends home. Terrified that he might NOT call and end up in some ditch somewhere, hurt and helpless. I thought of all the fights we had, all the times he'd tried to blame me for something I didn't do, the times he over-reacted of silly little mistakes I made, the times he insisted I spend time with him rather than hang out with my friends at So Random. I thought all of the times he'd made me feel like less than nothing, and suddenly I wondered why I'd been putting up with it for so long.

He was standing very close to me now, glaring down at me, and before I knew what was happening he had grabbed me by the shoulders, his grip tight and uncomfortable. I remembered the times he had grabbed me before, leaving bruises on my arms or wrists. He always apologized later, swore he hadn't been drinking, swore that all the fake ID's and 'connections' were destroyed. But it was always a lie.

"John. Get. Away. From. Me." My own voice, cold and stern, surprised me. "And if you ever so much as look at me the wrong way again, I'll call the police. I'm sure they'd be interested to know where you go in the evenings with your friends."

He loosened his grip for a second, obviously shocked. But the next second I saw anger return to his face. "Sonny Munroe you're nothing but a backstabbing little-"

"Excuse me." I looked over at my shoulder toward the doorway and saw Chad standing there, leaning casually against the door frame. "Not to interrupt, but John, I'd suggest you let Sonny go. I don't think she's interested in hearing the rest of your description of her."

"This isn't any of your business Chad." John said, his eyes flashing, but he immediately let go of me and stepped back a few paces.

"Actually, I think it is my business. Everything that goes on in this studio is my business. Especially the stuff that has to do with my friends." Chad walked toward us calmly, a smile on his face. "And Sonny, despite being overly perky and meddling in everyone elses business, is definitely my friend." I laughed nervously and both of the guys glanced briefly at me before continuing with their stare down. After a second Chad said quietly, "And if someone was to perhaps mess with my friends and hurt them in any way... well I'd just make sure the only acting job they'd be able to get in the state of California is playing the wiener in Harry's Hotdog House commercials." He let that sink in. "But you already know that. Don't you John?" For a minute I could barely breathe as I saw John take a threatening half-step forward, but Chad didn't flinch or move. He just continued to smile at him, his hands stuffed comfortably into the pockets of his Mackenzie Fall's uniform.

"I'm out of here." John muttered darkly after a few more seconds of silence. "I have to get to rehearsal." He pushed his way past Chad, and stalked out of the room.

As soon he was gone Chad's mask of calm disappeared. "Sonny! Are you okay? Did he hurt you before I came in?" He rushed over and looked me up and down, causing me to blush despite the circumstances.

"Chad, I'm fine." I stood for a second looking at him, then impulsively threw myself into his arms for a hug. "That was the bravest thing I've ever seen anyone do." I whispered into his ear as I wrapped my arms around his neck. "You were amazing." For a second he was rigid, probably shocked that a Random would have the audacity to hug him, but then he suddenly relaxed and hesitantly put his arms around me. As I laid my head on his shoulder, I was amazed at how comfortable I was in his arms. Almost as if I was supposed to fit there... woah, where did that come from?

Abruptly, I pulled away, blushing beet red. "Sorry. That was probably, um, awkward."

Chad's cheeks were stained pink too, but his eyes were bright and for a second I was sure I saw a goofy grin on his face. But the next second it disappeared. "Um, its okay. You were scared. I understand."

"Yeah..." I trailed off and we stood there, the silence rapidly becoming uncomfortable. To my surprise I felt tears begin to form in my eyes.

"Woah, are you crying?" Chad's panicked expression almost made me laugh, but instead I started to cry harder. "Sonny! Sonny? What's wrong? He did hurt you didn't he? I'll kill him. The next time I see him I'm going to-"

"No, no, no." I stopped him, trying to wipe my tears away. "It's just that now I know you and Tawni, and Nico, and Zora, and Grady and everybody else... you were all right. I wish I had just listened to you when you told me that John was no good."

"Hey, I'm not saying I told you so. John's a hard guy to read. He's a charmer." Chad paused a minute, then slowly put his arm around my shoulders. "It's okay to hurt because you broke up with him. It doesn't make you weak or stupid or anything. Break ups are hard. Even when we know we're better off alone."

I stared at him, even though my tears were blurring my vision. "W-why are you being so nice?"

Chad shrugged, looking a little awkward again. "Because its not normal for you to be so sad. You're supposed to be the happy one. I like it better when you're hap- uh, normal."

"Aw, thanks Chad." I didn't have time to over-analyze what he had just said because then the other Randoms rushed in.

"We heard you broke up with John-" Tawni said quickly.

"-so we brought you frozen yogurt-" Grady said, holding up the bowl to prove it.

"-and awesome movies that have _nothing_ to do with romance-" Nico added, his arms full of DVD's.

"-and tons of pictures of him for you to cut to shreds-" Zora said, cackling evilly.

"-and I brought you my break up kit. Chocolate, tissues, and a mix CD of the best 'he's a loser' songs ever!" Tawni finished.

"Awww you guys! Thank you! You're the best." I hugged them all, then nodded at the movies in Nico's hands. "Who wants to have a movie night at my place? I don't think I want to be alone right now."

"Yeah!" Zora nodded.

I took a deep breath and smiled at them all. Maybe I was going to be okay after all.

_Dear John, I see it all now that you're gone, _

_Don't you think I was too young to be messed with, _

_The girl in the dress cried the whole night long,  
>Dear John, I see it all now it was wrong, <em>

_Don't you think sixteen's too young to be played with? _

_Your dark twisted games when I loved you so...  
>I should have known... <em>

Present:

"Sonny are you in there? Sonny!" Through the blur of pain and memories, I heard Chad's voice, and a violent pounding on the door. Or maybe that was the pounding in my head from where it had hit the wall. No, that was definitely Chad pounding on the door if John's frustrated swearing was any indication. _Why does Chad care so much? _I couldn't help but wonder. But the next moment I was distracted by the sound of a body slamming into the other side of the door. I saw the hinges begin to loosen and John must have noticed too because he stepped forward, but it was too late. The next slam proved too much for the door and it gave way, sending Chad crashing through.

Almost instantly he was up on his feet. "Let her go John. There's no point in this!"

"Get out of here Cooper or I'll smash your pretty boy face." John slurred, grinning.

"I'd like to see you try." Chad stepped forward and swung wildly. I watched as if in a dream as his fist connected with John's nose.

"Really, that's the best you got?" John merely laughed, even though his nose began to spurt blood. I felt my stomach twist as he shoved Chad roughly, catching him off balance. The next second he hit him hard, in the stomach, followed almost immediately by a blow to the face that had him on the ground in seconds.

"Chad!" I screamed, truly realizing what was going on for the first time. I jumped to my feet, despite how my head spun, and rushed over to him. He lay on the ground, clearly unconscious, his mouth bleeding profusely, a dark bruise on his face becoming blacker with every second. The sight of him made my anger towards John double.

"John!"I turned towards him, and without thinking, slapped him hard on the face. "Chad's right. There's no point in this. Just stop!"

"But I love you Sonny. You're mine. He doesn't have the right to take you away from me." John said, his words so slurred that I could barely understand him. "He thinks he's so special. He almost got me fired from Mackenzie Falls. He couldn't get you too Sonny. It wouldn't be fair." He grabbed me and pulled me close, placing a sloppy kiss on my neck. "_I _love you."

"What are you talking about?" I pushed him away, too shocked to be disgusted. "Chad and I aren't dating."

"I've seen the way he looks at you. He's in love with you, even if you don't know it yet. And you're in love with him too. Even when we were dating you thought he was better than me. I knew you always thought he was better than me. I hate you for that." His grip on my arm tightened and I cried out. "You'll pay for dumping on me Sonny. I loved you and you left me. I'll never forgive you. Or him for stealing you." His grip tightened even more and the world began to swim as tears came to my eyes. I screamed.

"John Mason put your hands up!" I looked over and my jaw dropped when I saw a police officer standing there, holding an actual gun in his hand. My head began to swim still more, and when John shoved me away from him, I couldn't resist. I hit the floor and blacked out. My last thought was, _Does Chad really look at me like he loves me? _

Two weeks later:

_You're an expert at sorry,  
>And keeping lines blurry,<br>Never impressed _

_By me acing your tests, _

_All the girls that you've run dry,_

_Have tired lifeless eyes, _

_Because you burned them out, _

_But I took your matches, _

_Before fire could catch me, _

_So don't look now,  
>I'm shining like fireworks,<br>Over your sad, empty town. _

I walked into the prop house, smiling happily. It was the first time I had been back to the studio since I had gotten out of the hospital. They had only kept me for a few days, because other than a mild concussion and a few bumps, bruises and scratches I was okay. The next week and a half had been spent in therapy and fielding the crowds of paparazzi pounding down my door for comments on John Mason's jail time. I didn't have any comments to give. All I had at the end of all of this in fact was a restraining order against him, a whole heck of a lot of baggage I was slowly starting to deal with, and a startling deep new appreciation for Chad Dylan Cooper. I shook my head and sighed. It was alright. I was lucky to be here, to be as unscraped and unscathed as I turned out to be. The police had made it clear that it could have gotten much uglier than it did.

I turned as I heard someone else come in behind me, and I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face when I saw who it was. The man himself. CDC.

"Hey Sonny." He smiled at me, looking very sexy with the vague scars framing one side of his mouth. The doctor had assured him that the scars from the stitches would disappear, and I knew he must hate them, but I couldn't help but think he looked hot. _Um, I mean, dashing. Ah-em. Moving on. _

I smiled back at him. "Hey. How are you doing?" I tried not to feel self conscious. Since John's drunken comments about him being in love with me, I had felt a little weird being around him. Thankfully I hadn't had to deal with him much during our recovery processes. But now...

"I'm doing pretty well. Feeling considerably better than when I was lying unconscious on a floor, bleeding all over the place." He chuckled, but I shuddered.

"How can you joke about that? It was awful to see you so... so... hurt." I finished lamely.

For some reason his smile softened, his eyes glowing. "I know the feeling."

I looked down. "I'm sorry I got you into all that."

"I'm not. I'm glad I got to be your... um... your..." he trailed off, looking suddenly embarrassed.

"Hero?" I smiled as he shifted awkwardly. "Hey, don't feel bad. You are." For a moment we just stood there, smiling at eachother. Then Chad coughed, and broke our gaze.

"So... I'm not trying to bring up more bad memories, but would you mind telling me how he got you alone in Marshall's office after everyone else had gone home?"

I looked down. "I was... stupid. One of the prop guys from Mackenzie Falls gave me a handwritten message at the end of the day that was supposedly from Marshall. It said I was supposed to meet him in his office to talk about a change in the script. I didn't even think about it at the time. I had some last minute stuff to get done, so it took me awhile to get down there. When I did I saw John was in there and wanted to leave but he blocked me and said he just wanted to talk. He apologized for being a jerk, and I tried to hear him out, but eventually he started getting friendly. I tried to leave, but he had locked the door while he was standing in front of it. I was trapped."

I felt a hand on my arm and looked up into Chad's surprisingly sympathetic face. "I'm sorry Sonny. I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"It could have been worse." I whispered. "He could have done anything to me the whole time we were dating. He was strong enough and we were alone a lot. All the girls John's ever dated said at the trial that he had an abusive personality and that he always tried to push them to go farther than they wanted to go. I was lucky really. But I kind of wonder... why he didn't just... I mean..." I trailed off.

"You know why he didn't Sonny?" Chad said, his voice serious. "Because you're a strong person. You stood up for yourself. I bet none of the girls he ever dated did that. You didn't let him kick you around. You got out before he burned you, because you're too good for him. And that made him mad." I remembered the conversation John and I had had. _"I hate you for that. I will never forgive you." _The words were burned into my brain.

I closed my eyes and felt a tear escape. "But I did let him treat me badly. I wasn't strong. Not at all."

"But you were. You were so brave Sonny. You're not lucky. You're, well, amazing. Even if you are a Random." I opened my eyes and stared at him, a small smile on my lips. Suddenly I realized how close we were. My heart began to pound in my ears as his blue eyes, filled with unspoken words, slid down to my lips. Suddenly I longed to be back in his arms, his lips on mine, our hearts beating in tune.

Then the unthinkable happened.

I kissed Chad Dylan Cooper.

It wasn't long, it wasn't sloppy. It was just a peck. A brief insane moment when I wanted what I wanted and acted on a crazy impulse. I leaned forward, our lips touched, I felt him breathe in sharply, then kiss me back in a way I could only describe as eagerly. A second passed, and I pulled away. The world stopped for a few seconds. Then he smiled. I smiled too. And the world sprang back to life.

Suddenly the rest of the Randoms rushed in, clamoring about some new sketch they were going to do about butterflies who rapped Justin Bieber lyrics. I laughed and hugged them.

Grady said, "Sonny, you want to grab lunch with us before rehearsal starts?" I nodded, smiling, but just before I left, I looked back over my shoulder and grinned at Chad. And, his eye fluttered. Just barely a wink in my direction. And that made me smile even wider.

So as I walked to the cafeteria with my castmates I knew for sure I was going to be okay. That neither John or my relationship with him defined me. And I also knew that whatever happened with me and Chad, we would always have that stolen kiss. I remember what John had said about Chad being in love with me, and for the first time the notion didn't seem quite so awful as it had at first. Maybe, just maybe, Chad would always be my hero. Maybe, just maybe, my ending with John was the beginning of something new for Chad and I. Maybe, just maybe...

_Dear John I see it all now it was wrong,  
>Don't you think I was too young to be messed with, <em>

_The girl in the dress wrote you a song, _

_You should've known,_

_You should've known... _

_AN: Did you like it? Did you hate it? Want to tell me anything about your experiences when you stood up to someone who always tore you down? Review! Hope you enjoyed it, thanks for reading!  
><em>

_**Random Poll:  
><strong>_

_**What do you want to see more of in this story/one-shot collection?  
><strong>_

_**A.) More stuff from characters beside Sonny and Chad (for example, Tawni, Zora, Grady, blah blah blah).  
><strong>_

_**B.) MOOOORE CHANNY FLUFF! (Ha, is it bad that thats how I picture hardcore Channy fans talking? :p)  
><strong>_

_**C.) More other characters. Like characters I create and put in the stories.  
><strong>_


	5. Mean

_Author's Note: Okay here it is! The fifth chapter of Speak Now, Mean. This chapter was really fun and challenging to write because its kind of an... original plot line. Oh, and this is the first one-shot in this series to be written in Chad's point of view! I really hope you like it! It's also even longer than the last one, which is awesome! Oh, and speaking of the last one-shot, Dear John, thank you so much for all the nice stuff you said. I really appreciated your support. Thanks to: HaileyMarieWeary, KellyTheLovatic, Gl33k, and Jane-E-Kirsted for reviewing! You guys are awesome. And thanks for answering the poll question! This chapter has more other characters and lots of Channy fluff! Oh, and also just to let any younger readers out there know, this chapter has some adult themes in it. Don't worry, still pretty kid-friendly, but just letting everyone know. Enjoy chapter five! _

Chad's POV:

Five years ago:

_You, with your words like knives, _

_And swords and weapons that you use against me, _

_You have knocked me off my feet again, _

_Got me feeling like I'm nothing, _

_You, with your voice like nails on a chalkboard, _

_Calling me out when I'm wounded, _

_You, picking on the weaker man, _

_You can take me down, _

_With just one single blow, _

_But you don't know what you don't know... _

"Hey look. It's little Chad Dylan Gold_nerd_." A voice from behind me sneered.

I swallowed hard and slowly turned toward my tormentor. "It's Gold_farb_."

"Whatever." They stalked towards me, all six of them, the biggest bullies in all of Jackson Junior High. Their leader, the one who had spoken to me, had decided early in the year that I was going to be their newest victim. They didn't appreciate the fact that I was an outsider, that I had the audacity to audition for TV shows and want to be an actor while all of them were still at a point in their lives when all they wanted was the newest I-pod. As I looked around at all of them, my stomach turned. It had become a sort a routine. Get up, go to school, get through the day, get beat up, go home, wash the blood off, do my homework, eat dinner, go to bed. Good times. Not.

"Hey! Look at me when I'm talking to you!" The leader of the group, affectionately nicknamed Smasher by the rest of the gang, towered over me, glaring menacingly.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't hear you." I felt myself break into a light sweat as Smasher's fists clenched.

"Yeah, right. You're too good to listen to me, huh Goldfarb? Cause you're going to be some big celebrity, huh? Cause you're so much better than all the rest of us?" They all scoffed.

I shook my head quickly. "I didn't say that." It came out as a squeak.

"But you're thinking it." Smasher shoved me roughly and I fell backwards, slamming onto the concrete. "I'll show you what we think of stuck up snobs around here!"

"Smash him!" Chuck Evans, probably the biggest, ugliest seventh grader on the planet, crowed. The rest of the group took up the chant. "Smash him! Smash him!"

"My pleasure." Smasher's pulled me up roughly, then sent me reeling with a punch to the eye. The group oohed and ahhed as I hit the ground again, my whole face on fire with pain. Out of the corner of my good eye I saw Chuck and a few other boys dumping out my backpack, destroying my papers or throwing them far and wide. I sighed and felt a tear trickle out of my bruised eye, the salt in the tear burning my already-swelling skin.

Smasher laughed. "He's crying! What a wimp!"

Instantly I felt shame and anger fill me. It wasn't that I was lying on the ground while half a dozen people laughed at my pain. It was that I couldn't even hit back. No matter what Smasher did, I couldn't retaliate without hating myself. Because I wasn't just getting bullied and beat up. I was getting bullied and beat up... by a girl.

Present:

_Someday I'll be, _

_Living in a big ol' city, _

_And all you're ever gonna be is mean,  
>Someday I'll be,<br>Big enough so you can't hit me, _

_And all you're ever gonna be is mean,  
>Why you gotta be so mean? <em>

"CHAD! CHAD! OH MY GOSH I LOVE YOU SOO MUCH! CAN I HAVE YOUR AUTOGRAPH! CAN I GET A PICTURE? WILL YOU MARRY ME?" I smiled as my fans screamed and reached for me. Dozens of cameras flashed, capturing pictures of me that would no doubt be drooled over by even more crazed fans. My body guards created a circle of protection around me as I walked toward the doors of the studio. One particularly zealous fan managed to dart past one of the body guards and grabbed my sleeve hungrily.

I smiled. "Hey, what's up?"

"OH MY GOSH CHAD DYLAN COOPER JUST ASKED ME WHAT'S UP!" She screamed loudly, and a few other fans screamed in response and desperately tried to hurl themselves at me.

"Do you want an autograph?" I said, trying to resist the urge to press my hands to my ears in case she screamed again.

"Yes! Oh my gosh yes please!" The poor girl was literally sobbing now, her shoulders heaving. "I'm sorry, I just love you so much! I've watched every episode of Mackenzie Falls, and I have the Mackenzie pillow and the poster and the singing toothbrush! I dream about you every night and-and I just LOVE you!"

"I love you too!" I answered, grinning, pulling out an official Mackenzie Falls pen. "What's your name?"

"Jenna!" She said, her hand moving up and down my arm, rubbing it reverently. I tried not to feel too creeped out.

"Great name." I jotted down a quick message.

_To Jenna: _

_Thanks for being such a huge fan! You rock. _

_Love, Chad Dylan Cooper_

_P.S. You have a beautiful smile. ;) _

I'd learned quickly to put a personal spin on autographs. It made fans feel special and happy, and happy fans continued to watch Mackenzie Falls, and if they continued to watch Mackenzie Falls, Mackenzie Falls continued to be the number one tween show, and if Mack Falls was still the number one tween show, I still had the best job at Condor Studios.

Just as I had expected, the girl nearly died of happiness when she saw the post script. "Y-you're amazing." She whispered, her eyes shining.

"Thank you! So are you." I flashed her my well-known grin, the one that made all the girls automatically scream. "Oh, and keep the pen." I put it into her hand and winked. "See you later cutie." Part of me wasn't surprised when she took the pen and promptly passed out. One of the guards moved her out of the way and we continued to move towards the door.

"Chad! Is it true that you told Ellen Degeneres you would date a fan?" A girl screamed from the crowd.

I made eye contact with the girl, who happened to be pretty and blonde. "Only if she's as beautiful as you." I added a flirtatious wink, and the girl fell backwards into her friend's arms. I saw one of my body guards roll their eyes.

When I finally got into the studio I waved to the remaining fans who pressed themselves against the door, then turned to my body guards. "Good job guys. Take the rest of the day off. I'll go out the back way when I leave."

"Thank you Mr. Cooper." They all nodded and walked away. I flipped my hair out of my eyes and started to strut down the hallway, nodding and smiling at everyone I saw. I was in a good mood. Seeing how crazy- uh, I mean, loyal my fans were always made me feel that way. It meant that they weren't going anywhere, that all my charm and hair product had worked and I was finally on top. Finally past those days in middle school when- I shook my head and frowned for the first time that day. I didn't like to think about it.

"Chad, your fans are the most obnoxious I've ever seen in my life." I turned to see Sonny Munroe, my arch nemesis at Condor Studios. _And the hottest girl I've ever seen in my life. Uh, I mean... never mind. _She was scowling, which was unusual, and her normally neat hair and clothes were slightly askew.

"What happened Munroe? Make the mistake of using the front door on this fine morning?"

"I didn't know your entourage would be there." She said, flipping her hair out of her eyes. "I had to fight my way through dozens of screaming teenage girls, and when I finally got up to the door, they all saw that I was going in and tried to rush me. Not to mention the only thing coming out of their mouths was Chad this and Chad that." She shivered. "It makes my skin crawl to see normal, healthy teenage girls so enthralled with you."

I smirked. "Jealous much?"

"Of what? All those fans who adore you? Ha! Listen Chad I would never in a million years like you, and I don't care how suave and sexy you are, I am _not _falling for you! So all of those girls can waste their time and drool over you all they want, cause I don't care!" She said, folding her arms defiantly.

"Uh... actually I just meant the fact that I _have _a crowd of screaming fans and you Randoms don't..." I said after a second of trying to wrap my mind around Sonny's tirade.

"Oh." Instantly her cheeks turned bright red.

Slowly I grinned. "But good to know you think I'm.. what was it? Suave and sexy? Yeah, that sounds right."

"I didn't say that!"

"Yes you did." I folded my arms in front of me and smiled condescendingly at her.

"Okay, yeah I did. But what I meant to say was... um... 'how suave and sexy _you think _you are'! That's different."

"Yeah, but you didn't say that, you said-"

"I know what I said!" She snapped, looking exasperated. "Can we move on now please?"

"Fine." I smirked again, enjoying her discomfort.

"Fine."

"Good."

"Good!" She said, and started to stalk off toward her side of the studio.

"Hey Sonny!" I said suddenly, stopping her.

"What Chad?" She said, sighing and putting her hand on her hip.

"I just wanted to say... right back at ya." I smiled and winked as her mouth dropped open. "Later Random." I said, backing up down the hallway so I could enjoy her shocked expression and pink cheeks awhile longer. As she opened and shut her mouth, clearly trying to form a comeback, I turned and started to strut down the hallway again towards the Mack Falls set, whistling a little. _Yep, life is definitely going my way. _

And then, just in case I was getting too cool for my own good, I immediately ran into someone.

"Hey! Watch it!" A vaguely familiar female voice said angrily.

"Oh, sorry." I said, quickly steadying her. "My ba-" I looked up into her face and froze. Blueish gray eyes. Straight jet-black hair. And the mocking smile I knew so well starting to form on her lips. It was the last person I'd ever expected to see here, in my new life. It was Smasher.

"Chad." She said. Just one syllable. That's all it took. Suddenly, I had shrunk. Shrunk back into that twelve year old boy who came home every day with a busted lip or a black eye to a mother too strung out on drugs to care. I had shrunk back into the person I had worked so hard to leave behind. Who I thought I _had _left behind. But just then, standing there, I felt more like Chad Dylan Goldfarb then ever.

"Sma- I mean, Samantha. You're here." My voice had never sounded so flat in my entire life.

She chuckled, her laughter hollow. "Don't sound so excited."

"Why are you here?" It was abrupt, it was rude, and worst of all, I sounded scared when I said it. I cringed.

"I'm working here. You're looking at the newest lunch lady at Condor Studios." She smiled a little, but to my surprise it didn't look like the smile I remembered. Instead she looked kind of... sad.

"You're working as a lunch lady?" I said slowly, trying to process the fact that the bane of my existence in middle school had been reduced to serving me my meals.

"Well its better than working at some drive through somewhere." She said slowly, as if trying to convince herself as well as me. "Plus," she said, her mocking smile returning, "it will keep me humble. Don't you remember? I hate snobs."

"I remember." I said, my heart beating in my ears. "I remember a lot of things."

"Yeah. Like that cute little nickname I had for you. What was it? Let's see... Chad Dylan Goldn-"

"I have to go." I said, and pushed past her.

"See you later Goldfarb." She said behind me, but I just kept walking. Trying to put distance between myself and the memory of those weeks of bullying. My good mood had vanished.

_You, with your switching sides, _

_And your wildfire lies,  
>And your humiliation, <em>

_You have pointed out my flaws again,  
>As if I don't already see them,<br>I walk with my head down, _

_Trying to block you out,  
>Cause I never impress you, <em>

_I just want to feel okay again,_

Flashback:

"Hey loser." I sighed. It was my first day of seventh grade, and it was already beginning again.

"What do you want Samantha?" I turned towards the girl who had made the last year of my life miserable.

"Uh, who gave you permission to call me that Mr. High and Mighty?" She said, giving me a look that could have easily killed me.

"Nobody." I sighed. "Alright, I've got things to do when I get home, so can you just beat me up and get it over with?"

I expected the punches to fly fast and furious after a speech like that but instead Smasher just stared at me, smirking. "What do you have to do when you get home? Take care of your druggie mom?"

The words were worse than a punch to the stomach. I sucked in a quick gasp of air, and I saw Chuck laugh.

"My mom is _not _a druggie." I said, my words punctuated with anger.

"Yeah, right. Remember your little girlfriend last year? Lisa-what's-her-name? She told me about it. Your mom's doesn't even know which way is up."

"She's sick." I hated myself for crying. "She has depression."

"No," Smasher walked towards me until she was literally inches from my face, "worse. She. Has. You."

I didn't realize I shoved her until afterwards. The next second they were all on me, defending their leader. By the time they were done, my nose was gushing blood. Smasher stood over me. Sometime during all the fighting, her lip had gotten cut, and a thin stream of blood shone there. "Get out of here Goldfarb! Get out of here and take care of your precious mom." She kicked me roughly in the side and I slowly got up and limped away. But her words echoed in my ears. _Get out of here. Get out of here. Get out of here. _And that's when I knew. I would get out of this town. I would go to Hollywood. And I would become someone they would never be able to look down on again. I had had enough of lying on the ground so they could kick me. I was done.

Present:

"But Chloe, you can't stay here! If Cassidy finds out you're her half-sister she'll know you have the locket! And she'll kill you, and me, and anyone else who gets in her way to get it!" Right on cue Chloe, otherwise known as my co-star Ashley, threw herself into my arms.

"Mackenzie! I can't go! I won't leave you!"

"Chloe... you have to." I pulled away from her and looked earnestly into her eyes. "If Cassidy hurts you I'd never forgive myself."

"Mackenzie... you're amazing." The line reminded me of what the fan said earlier. I smiled my most dashing smile.

"No more amazing than you are." I looked over to the right side of the set, where my friend Skyler waited to enter as Mackenzie's best friend, Trevor. "I hear footsteps! Go Chloe, go!"

"I-I can't leave you!" I've always wondered how Ashley can make herself cry so easily and quickly. Before my very eyes she dissolved into a sobbing, shaky mess in mere seconds.

"You have to!" I placed my hand on the side of her face. "But first..." I leaned forward and our lips connected. It's a big moment for Mackenzie and the fans of the show. I know they've been waiting for me to declare my love for Chloe ever since the show started. Because I know this, I make the kiss as passionate as it can be while still being appropriate. After all, we are on a tween show. After we break away I stared into her eyes for a second longer before saying my next line. "Now, go!" I gently pushed her towards the other side of the set, and after a brief look over her shoulder, she ran off stage left.

Skyler ran in right on cue. "Mackenzie!"

"Trevor! You're alright!" I walked over to him and gave him a quick bro hug. "I heard your car went over a cliff!"

"It did. But I wasn't in it." Skyler looked down, as if mourning the loss of his beloved car, and I flipped the hair out of my eyes dramatically.

"But wait..." Skyler looked around, feigning confusion. "Where's Chloe?"

"She's gone Trevor. I made her leave before Cassidy could get to her."

"What will you do without her?"

"I'll miss her." I walked dramatically forward a couple of steps, distancing myself from Skyler for the final lines of the episode. I stared out past the camera, and I knew they were zooming in on my face for the dramatic final close up. "And when it's safe, I'll find her. I promise you Chloe, I will always find you!"

I shouted the last sentence, and a moment passed before the director yelled "Cut!" and I broke my stance.

"Hey, great job man!" Skyler slapped me a high five.

"Yeah. Another great episode of Mack Falls finished!" I grinned.

"Well, the rest of us are going to grab a bite to eat in the cafeteria before heading home. You want to join us?" Skyler asked, but I knew he thought the question is just a formality. I always join the cast for a nice plate of lobster after we wrap on Friday. It's the perfect time to sit back, relax, talk about that week's show, and feel superior to the Randoms who have to eat their ick on a stick while we eat our expensive seafood. But this particular week I'd decided to bail. Because I didn't think I had it in me to run into Smasher, um, Samantha again.

"Ah, I don't think so man. Not today. I've got stuff to do. Annoy the Randoms a little more than usual for me okay?"

"Uh, sure." Skyler shot me a weird look, and I could tell he was confused as to why I was ditching. I just shrugged and smiled. Nice thing about being the star of the show. You don't have to explain your reasons for everything.

After the rest of the cast left for the cafeteria, I headed to my dressing room to take off my Mackenzie Falls uniform. I changed into my jeans and had just pulled the t-shirt I wear under my button-up off when I hear, "Chad? Oh my gosh!"

I turned to see Sonny standing in the doorway, staring at me. I raised my eyebrows, wondering why she looks so shocked. It's not like I'm not wearing any clothes.  
>"Hey Sonny." She didn't respond, just continued to stare at me. I followed her gaze and glanced down at my abs. I couldn't help the smile that started to spread across my face. Yeah, I work out and take care of myself, but I never thought of myself as the buff type. But seeing how obviously impressed Sonny was, I felt my ego begin to inflate. "Uh, Sonny?" I walked towards her and waved my hand gently in front of her face. "You okay?"<p>

"Hmmm?" She snapped out of it and seemed determined to keep her eyes on my face. "Oh, yeah. I just saw you weren't in the cafeteria and was wondering if maybe you were sick or something. Are you okay?"

"Oh." I sighed and slipped my shirt over my head. I glanced at her and grinned quickly. "Sorry, show's over."

She rolled her eyes, but I saw her cheeks color. "Stop changing the subject."

"What? I'm obviously not sick." I sat down and slipped on my shoes.

"But are you okay?" I looked up and saw Sonny looking so concerned that I almost wanted to tell her what's going on. Then I shook that feeling off. Sonny, with her happy personality, is the last person to understand about bullies.

"I'm fine." I said and tried to smile convincingly.

Sonny gave me a look. I can't describe it, except that I've seen it on my mom's face too. I think it means she knows I'm lying. "F- faking my smile. I- insecure. N- not ready for what life is throwing my way. E- everyone hates me." She recited, ticking off the items on her fingers as she went. When she was done she held up the four fingers. "Fine is one of the worst four letter words. What's really going on?"

I sighed. "Nothing you would understand Random."

"Try me." She remained in the doorway, even when I tried to move past her, a stubborn look on her face.

"I used to be bullied okay!" I yelled suddenly. I'm not sure why I caved. I think maybe part of me just wanted to tell her, but I have no idea why.

"What?" Sonny looked so honestly surprised that I instantly regretted telling her.

"Never mind. Just let me by." I tried to push past her, but she pushed back and we ended up standing really close to eachother.

"No, no, no wait. I'm sorry. You just surprised me. But I get it. I was bullied too."

"What?" I said, my eyes widening. "You?" I looked down at Sonny, with her beautiful shiny brown hair, gorgeous brown eyes, and stunning smile. She definitely didn't look the type to be bullied.

"Yeah." Her eyes clouded, and her smile began to fade. "All through elementary school and into middle school. It got so bad I had to drop out and homeschool."

"Oh." I said. I didn't know what else to say. All the snarky things I had ever said to Sonny rushed back to me and I felt the urge to slam my head against a wall. If I had known... but I hadn't. And now Sonny probably hated me. I couldn't believe how much that thought bothered me.

"They weren't like you Chad." Her words pulled me back to our conversation. She was staring up at me, her face serious. "I know you would never really try to hurt me. I know we're friends. Those people weren't teasing. They were... awful." She dropped her eyes as what she just said to me sinks in. _Woah... Sonny just read my mind. Not to mention she called us "friends". That's a first. _

"What did they do to you?" I said, then instantly regretted it. "Sorry, you don't have to tell me."

"No, its okay." She looked up and met my gaze again, a sad little smile on her face. "Its not a big deal anymore." She tucked a stray wisp of hair behind her ear and continued. "They used to push me around. Make things difficult for me. They'd break my pencils or steal my lunch money or trip me in the hallways. Stupid stuff. It wasn't till I was about nine that it started to change." She shivered and crossed her arms in front of her. "They started verbally harassing me. I didn't really mind the physical stuff, but the things they said were terrible. They called me fat and told me no one would ever love me. They'd call me names, and tell me that I should just go die." She bit her lip. "The rest of the kids figured out pretty quick that I was the main target of their teasing. No one would be my friend because they were afraid they'd get bullied too. So everyone excluded me. I was always chosen last to be on teams and the kids would complain if I was on their team. One girl even moved an entire game of jump rope to the other side of the playground when she saw me walking over to join." She saw me staring at her and laughed a little. "I know most of it sounds pretty stupid, but it really affected me."

"No." I said suddenly, angrier then I had been in a long time. "It doesn't sound stupid. It sounds like hell."

Her eyebrows leaped to her hairline, clearly surprised at my emotional response. I cleared my throat. "Uh, I mean, how did you cope with that?"

"Well, I cried. I stopped eating. I hated myself." She said, so honestly I felt my throat tighten. How could she be so open about this? I was her worst enemy here at Condor Studios. And that's when I realized. Compared to what Sonny had known, I wasn't much of an enemy after all. And for some reason that made me want to smile.

"I'm sorry Sonny. Really." I added when she looked at me skeptically.

Seeing I was sincere, she nodded slowly. "Thanks Chad. It was tough for awhile. Then I met Lucy. She was the only girl at school who would be my friend. She would even stand up to the bullies for me. It didn't really help, but it was just nice to have someone on my side, you know? Even after I left school we stayed close. I'll never forget what it felt like to have a friend in that situation. It made everything easier." She stared at me until I was forced to look away, her gaze was so intense. "I want to be your friend now Chad."

"What?" I said, my voice sounding a little scared. Something about the determined way she was looking at me made me nervous.

"What's really going on Chad?" She said.

"I told you. I was bullied." I said, avoiding her gaze.

"Yeah. I know. But something brought this all up. What was it?" When I remained silent she surprised me by poking me playfully in the ribs. "Come on I just spilled my guts to you! Give me your Lifetime movie sob-story."

"Hey!" I jumped back as she poked me again. "Stop it!"

"Come on, come on, come on!" She said, childishly, continuing to poke me gently.

"She's here, okay!" I yelled.

She abruptly stopped poking me as my face turned bright red. _I said she... oh my gosh I said she... Sonny knows now. Knows my biggest secret. Crap. _

"She?" Sonny echoed slowly, understanding dawning on her face. I hated that she understood.

"I have to go!" I said suddenly, trying once again to push past her.

"Woah, woah, woah, no you don't!" She held up one hand and pushed me backwards. "We're dealing with this."

"No! I don't want to." Realizing how much I sounded like a bratty little kid I tried to regain some control of the situation. "This really isn't any of your business Sonny." My voice was so cold and impersonal I inwardly cringed. But Sonny didn't even bat an eye.

"You're right it isn't. But I do want to tell you something." She leaned toward me until our faces were mere inches apart. "Chad Dylan Cooper, I think you're-" _A wimp. A loser. A weakling. Someone who lets little girls beat them up. _"-one of the sweetest guys I've ever known." _Wait, what? _I froze as Sonny impulsively grabbed me into one of her huge, energetic bear hugs. As she squeezed me tight and lingered for a few seconds, I felt a warm glow fill me, and my cheeks turned bright red. I didn't know why Sonny was suddenly being so affectionate with me, but I did know I liked it. Loved it, even. _Um... I mean, I appreciate this friendly hug in a purely platonic way because I've been feeling down today. Right. Of course. _

"Do you have a head injury?" I said as she pulled away. "Did you not just hear the part where I confessed to you that as a kid I was continually beat up by a girl?"

"I did." She replied, beaming up at me. "And I also know that you could probably have beaten the crap out of her if you'd wanted to. But you didn't hit her back... why?"

"Well, um, because she had these mean friends who _also_ liked to beat me up and-"

"Yeah, I get it, you were outnumbered." She waved my logical reason away. "But really you didn't fight back because she was girl didn't you? And you were trained to never hit a girl?"

"Well... uh..." I trailed off, feeling a little awkward. I'd never really thought about it, but looking back I knew it was true. I could have hit back. But I didn't because I was, well, a gentlemen. I blinked. Sonny certainly made me see myself in a whole different light.

"I KNEW IT!" She screamed, even though I hadn't said anything. "Chad that is soooo sweet! I knew that underneath that egotistical exterior there was a gentlemen in hiding."

"Okay, Munroe, can we move past this love fest, please?" I said, as she practically danced with joy and I blushed red to the roots of my hair.

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "There's the Chad I know and don't love. But its okay." To my surprise she grabbed my hand and gave it a quick squeeze before releasing it again. "I know the nice version of you is hiding in there somewhere. Maybe underneath all this hair product." She teased, briefly running her fingers through my hair, rumpling it.

The feeling of her fingers tangled in my hair, however brief the sensation, made my whole scalp tingle. I swallowed hard, and pushed her hands away. "Hey, hey, hey Sonny. Watch the hair."

She rolled her eyes again. "Okay, okay. Back to more important subjects. Why is the girl who bullied you here at Condor Studios?"

"She got a job as a lunch lady in the cafeteria. I don't really know why she chose to come here. I didn't really want to sit back and have a nice, long chat with her."

"Chad. You need to talk to her. And as soon as possible." Sonny's tone and face were dead serious. "You need to get some closure."

I stared at her. "Are you crazy? The girl is clearly psychotic. I don't ever want to see her again."

"Listen, I understand how you feel. Believe me. But running from your fears is ten times worse then just facing up to them. And besides, we both know you're not afraid of that girl." She looked me dead in the eye, pinning me to the wall with her next words. "You're afraid of who you became around her. You're afraid of how far she pushed you down. You're afraid you're of going back to that place. That place when you're just a nothing in a huge, scary world."

I gulped. Her words fit me a little too well. But I shook my head. "I really don't think that's a good idea. I don't need closure. I can deal with my issues."

"Yeah, I thought the same thing." She said, not appearing phased by my rejection of her plan. "And then this happened." She rolled up the sleeve of her shirt and pointed silently to a spot on her upper arm. A small collection of ugly scars criss-crossed there. As the reality of what she was telling me sank in, I felt my stomach tighten.

"Y-you cut?" I said slowly. This was clearly an alternate universe. Sonny, with her bubbly attitude and her love of Chuckle City, could never have cut herself. That was crazy.

But she nodded. "I used to. Most of the scars have healed though." She rolled her sleeve back down.

"Why are you telling me this?" I said, my mind overwhelmed.

"Because I'm proving a point. Look, I'm not saying if you don't talk to this girl that you'll go where I went, but I do know that having that much baggage can be destructive. Can make _you _destructive. And I would never wish that mentality on anybody. Even my worst enemy."

I didn't say anything for a few seconds, turning over everything I had just learned in my mind. Finally, I nodded. "Okay."

"Good." She smiled. "I'll walk you to the cafeteria."

"Sonny," I said, stopping her. "You're okay now, right? You're not... I mean, you're okay?"

She smiled again, her eyes soft. "Yeah, I'm okay now. But it took me awhile to get to that point."

"Thanks. For telling me. That must have been hard for you." I said, and then, not knowing what else to do and prompted by a sudden impulse, I grabbed her hand, palm down, and brought it to my lips briefly.

She grinned as I released it. "See? I told you you were a gentleman at heart."

_I bet you got pushed around,  
>Somebody made you cold, <em>

_But the cycle ends right now, _

_Cause you can't lead me down that road,_

_And you don't know what you don't know,_

As I walked through the cafeteria doors I was immediately struck by how different it looked with no people in it. Most of the shows at the studio had long since finished filming for the week, and the few who hadn't were putting in the last few hours of hard work before they called it quits for the weekend.

I looked around at the tables and chairs. All the tables were wiped clean, but a few of the chairs were tilted at an angle from them, as if some people hadn't bothered to push their chairs in when they stood up. I suddenly wondered if I pushed my chair in when I got up. Probably. After all, I was a "gentleman". I smirked, and reached over to push a wayward chair back in its proper place.

"I didn't know the great Chad Dylan Cooper did menial work like that." I turned around to find Samantha standing there, holding a wet cloth in one hand and a broom in the other. Somehow, after my talk with Sonny, she looked less intimidating. Her sleek black hair was caught up in a messy bun on top of her head and food stains covered the white apron tied haphazardly around her waist.

"Well, you know, I have many talents." I said, a little warily.

"Right...," she said, her tone unconvinced.

"So, can I give you a hand?" I smiled, trying to put my best foot forward.

"From what I heard around here today, you don't like to get your hands dirty." Samantha swiped at the top of a table, even though I had thought it was already clean.

"Yeah, but I could help out an old friend." I moved to take the broom from her, but she stepped back.

"Friend? That's a good one." Her lip curled.

"Look, Samantha, I'm trying here." I sighed.

"Why don't you just call me Smasher? I know that's all I am to you. Why pretend?" Her tone was hostile, but as she tucked a straggly piece of hair behind her ear, I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. The bags under her eyes spoke of exhaustion and maybe even sadness.

"Look Sma- Samantha. We need to talk." I motioned toward one of the tables. "Why don't we sit down and catch up."

She jerked her head up suddenly and stared at me. To my surprise, I saw that there were tears in her eyes. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Doing what?" I said, honestly astonished.

"Being nice! You have every right to be awful to be me. I wouldn't blame you if you never spoke to me again. What's wrong with you?" Her face crumpled as more tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Umm..." I trailed off, glancing at the door, praying for Sonny to make an appearance. To my surprise, not to mention relief, she did.

"Oh my gosh, Chad what did you do to her?" As Samantha continued to cry, Sonny took her by the hand and led her to a table.

"I didn't do anything!" I said quickly. "I just tried to talk to her!"

"Honey," Sonny turned her attention to Samantha again, "do you need anything? Are you sick? Do you need a glass of water?"

"No." Sonny's words seemed to somehow have a calming affect on Samantha. "No, I'm fine." She sniffed, and wiped her eyes. Then she looked at me. And said the last words I ever expected to hear from her.

"I'm so sorry for what I did to you."

"What?" I said, sure I hadn't heard right.

"I'm so sorry... for everything. Even bringing up the nickname earlier. I was just... shocked to see you." She sniffed again and wiped her nose on her sleeve. "You don't understand how... what you meant to me."

"W-what I meant to you?" I said slowly. "Was beating me up really that important to you?"

She laughed a little, but it sounded hollow. "Oh, Chad, don't you know why I did it?"

"Uh, no?" I said, more confused than ever.

"I hated you-"

"Well, I got that part." I said, but shut up as Sonny sent me an evil glare.

"I hated you _because _I liked you... and then you rejected me." Samantha's eyes as they met mine, so red-rimmed and weepy, were pathetic.

"I rejected you?" I said, after struggling to form a real sentence for a few seconds. "When?"

"I liked you all through elementary school. I gave you a valentine and a carnation every Valentine's Day. Don't you remember?"

I vaguely remembered receiving the little cards with hearts printed on them. But they had never been signed. "Those were from you? But... you never signed them."

"That's because I was afraid you wouldn't like me back." Samantha said, sighing. "Then one day I overheard one of your friends talking to you. He was talking about me for some reason, I don't remember why. And then you said, 'I don't understand why that girl always dresses like a guy. She's so ugly.'"

"Chad!" Sonny stared at me, her mouth wide open in shock. "You said that?"

I flushed guiltily. I hadn't remembered till now, but I did sort of remember saying something like that to my friend Jack one day. I opened my mouth to apologize, but Samantha interrupted me.

"No, it wasn't Chad's fault. I did dress like a boy, and I was ugly. He was just telling the truth. And besides, we were in the fourth grade. No one was nice to eachother. It just hurt so much... because it came from you. You, who I thought was the sun, the moon, and the stars. Well, after that day, I swore I'd hate you forever." She shook her head. "I know that's no excuse for how I treated you. B-but my dad... he used to... hit me too. And I-I wasn't really... alright back then." She stuttered over her words as the tears started to flow again.

"Oh, sweetie." Sonny pulled her into a hug. For a minute Samantha looked shocked, but then she hugged back with all her might.

"I-I didn't know. Samantha, I'm sorry, I wish I could make it up to you." I said, hardly believing what was happening. Half an hour I would never have believed I would be saying these words to her. But now, all I could feel was pity for the girl who had caused me so much pain.

"_You_ wish you could make it up to _me_?" She burst into fresh tears. "I tortured you! I called you names, beat you into the ground, and crossed every line you put down... h-how could you say you want to make it up to _me_?"

"Because," I walked over to where she sat and got down on one knee to be on eye level with her, "I hurt you. And I want to apologize."

She stared at me, looking at me as if I was the best guy on earth. "You're amazing." She said after a second. The third time that had been said to me today. But this time it was so much more than a desperate plea for attention from a fan or a line in a script. This time, in this moment, it meant everything to me.

"Samantha-" I started, but she cut me off.

"Please, call me Sam. All my friends do."

I nodded and smiled. "Sam, what have you been doing since middle school?"

She looked away. "I started dating Chuck Evans my freshman year, long after you were gone. Do you remember him?"

"Oh yeah. Well, I remember his fists." I said, chuckling a little.

"Yeah, I do too." She said, her haunted eyes saying more than any words could. The laughter died on my lips.

"Sophomore year I got pregnant. Chuck told everybody that he wasn't the father, that I must have cheated on him or something. Everyone hated me." She closed her eyes and a single tear escaped, trickling down her cheek. "That's when I really knew for the first time what I put you through. It was terrible."

"I'm sorry." I said, but the words were empty.

"It's okay. I dropped out of school and moved in with my aunt and uncle out of state. I had the baby and they adopted him. His name is..." she stopped abruptly, then continued slowly, "his name is Chad. Chad Ethan Taylor. I-I hope you're okay with that. I wanted to do something to make it right... what I'd done to you."

"You named your son after me?" I stared at her.

"Well, you're kind, successful, and, uh, handsome." She smiled. "Why wouldn't I name him after you?"

I glanced up at Sonny, and was surprised to see tears shining in her eyes. She nodded, just a little, and my heart warmed.

Sam followed my gaze. "I'm glad you found someone. Such a beautiful girl too. I love So Random." She smiled at me.

"Oh, uh," I colored as Sonny began to look a little panicked, "we're not together."

"Oh! Really? I just thought the way you were looking at eachother just then..." She glanced suspiciously back and forth between us.

"Nope! Not together! So how did you end up in Hollywood Sam?" Sonny said, quickly changing the subject.

"I wanted to go to into hair and make-up. I love making things beautiful, enhancing the good in things. But I couldn't afford beauty school, and no one would hire me with no experience. But I could do a good job! I know I could!"

My mind whirled. I couldn't imagine Smasher, the bully, being interested in a career in hair and make up. But I could sort of see it for Sam, the girl with a hard life and a pretty smile. "Well," I said, standing up, "congratulations then."

"What for?" She said, blankly.

"You are the new hair and make-up assistant for Mackenzie Falls, Condor Studios number one tween show." I said, shooting Sonny a slightly superior look. She rolled her eyes, but she was beaming.

"You're joking." Sam said, her eyes alight with hope.

"Not at all. Let's get you away from all that ick over there." I said, motioning to the leftover food and wrinkling my nose.

"Oh my gosh, Chad!" She jumped up and gave me a hug such as I had never experienced before. "Thank you so much! I'll never forget this! Never!" Tears filled her eyes as she flung her arms around Sonny too. "When can I start?"

"Monday, at eight. I'll see you on set." I said, giving her my most dashing smile.

"Thank you! I won't let you down I promise! Thank you!" She gave me another hug. "I have to go call my aunt and uncle and give them the good news! Thank you! Thank you!" She pulled her cellphone from her pocket and rushed from the room.

Sonny walked over to me as soon as she was gone and threw her arms around me. "I'm proud of you Chad. For an egotistical, self-centered, too-popular-for-his-own-good flirt, you're a pretty good guy." She pulled away and smiled, almost shyly. "I'm proud to be your friend. But don't spread that around."

I laughed as she headed for the door. "Hey Munroe, where are you going?"

"To tell Sam to not let them use so much hair product on you of course!" She grinned.

"You better not." I said, only half-joking.

"Relax, Chad." She rolled her eyes, and still laughing, moved toward the door.

"Hey Sonny?" I said, stopping her again.

"What?"

"About that, 'being proud to be my friend' thing..." I said, smiling at her.

"Yeah?"

"Just wanted to say... right back at ya." For a second we shared a smile I knew I would never forget, and then she nodded and walked out the door. Whistling to myself, I started to follow her. _Looks like my good mood is back... _

_But someday I'll be, _

_Living in a big ol' city, _

_And all you're ever gonna be is mean, _

_Someday I'll be, _

_Big enough so you can't hit me,  
>And all you're ever gonna be is mean, <em>

_Why you gotta be so mean? _

_Why you gotta be so mean... _

_AN: So what'd you think? Personally, I actually was pretty entertained even just writing this, so I hope you were entertained too! And who loved all the Channy in this? Haha sorry if you think they're being too obvious about their feelings, but I always kind of thought in the TV show the we're enemies to we're bf/gf came a little too fast. There was too little development of their feelings shown, so thats what I'm trying to show here. Oh, and sorry if the characters were a little off in this one. I tried really hard to keep them all in character, but this one-shot was pretty out of context, so it was hard. Anyway, thanks for reading, and if you liked it, please review! :)  
><em>


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